Firefighters Across State Will Raise Funds For Burn Victims

Stratford firefighters and other departments across the state are raising money for the addition of a hospitality suite at Bridgeport Hospital's Connecticut Burn Center so family members can stay overnight while visiting burn patients.

The suite will be part of extensive renovations already underway at the hospital's burn care unit, the only fully accredited one in the state.

Stratford firefighter Steve Lupinacci said the idea for the hospitality suite came from a tour New York City firefighters gave him 10 years ago at a burn care unit in New York that has a similar accommodation.

Lupinacci is the president of the Stratford Professional Firefighters Burn Foundation, which raises money for the burn center in Bridgeport.

He said he contacted Stephen Jakab, president of the Bridgeport Hospital Foundation, and asked if firefighters could start a fundraising campaign for adding a hospitality suite there, and Jakab proposed adding it to the renovation project, the first major upgrade of the burn unit since 1993.

Firefighters will raise $200,000, Lupinacci said -- $150,000 to build the unit, and $50,000 for a maintenance endowment.

"Our patients tell us there's nothing like having your family nearby when you're recovering in the burn unit," said Jakab.

Hospital officials say burn injury treatment often requires months of specialized care in the hospital. If the patient's family doesn't live nearby, staying at a hotel during a visit can become a major expense.

Lupinacci said the Stratford Professional Firefighters Burn Foundation has rallied other firefighter union locals across the state to join the cause. "We're asking each local in the state to donate at least $500," he said.

Some have gone further. Stratford firefighters will hold a wine tasting benefit Feb. 16 at the . Bridgeport firefighters will hold a benefit dinner dance March 10 from 7-11 p.m. at Vazzano's Four Seasons. And New London firefighters will host a benefit prime rib dinner Feb. 22 at in New London.

One of a Kind Treatment

"Let's face it, the burn center is the only accredited burn center in Connecticut. The area it serves is very large," Lupinacci said.

Bridgeport Hospital spokesman John Cappiello said the burn center was established in 1973 by a campaign led by chairman of surgery Dr. Andrew Panettieri and his wife Henrietti following a chemical explosion at a Stratford factory that injured several workers.

At the time, there were only 10 accredited burn centers in the United States and the Connecticut Burn Center was the only one between New York and Boston. The unit treats burns caused by fires, explosions, electrical burns, chemical burns and scalding mishaps from boiling water spills.

The hospital has a helicopter landing pad on top of a parking garage that allows patients to be airlifted there by LifeStar helicopters.

"We treat most of the significant burn injuries in the state,” said burn unit medical director Dr. John Schulz.

He said the unit treats about 300 in-patients and nearly 1,000 out-patients each year. The most seriously hurt patients are treated at the acute care section. Other patients stay in the non-acute care section or in other parts of the hospital.

Schulz said the renovations won't increase the number of beds, but it will increase the size of the acute care treatment area. It will convert double rooms in the non-acute section into private single rooms, and upgrade the physical and occupational therapy facilities where burn patients regain the use of their limbs lost because of the scarring and skin grafts.

Lupinacci said the firefighters' fundraising started in October and so far has raised $13,000 from events such as passing buckets at Bridgeport Sound Tigers hockey games, plus $20,000 more from a private donor.

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